Privacy Policy

Last Updated: June 17, 2025

1. Introduction and Scope

AskMyNote ("we," "our," or "us") operates an AI-powered educational platform that helps students and educators interact with their study materials through intelligent question-answering, quiz generation, and document summarization.

This Privacy Policy applies to all users of AskMyNote, including:

• Students using our platform for personal study
• Educators integrating AskMyNote into their teaching
• Educational institutions that may adopt our platform
• Visitors to our website and potential users

2. Information We Collect

Personal Information

When you create an account with AskMyNote, we collect:

• Basic Account Info: Full name, email address, password (encrypted)
• Educational Context: School/institution name (optional), role (student/educator)
• Age Verification: Age or birth date to ensure COPPA compliance

Educational Content and Usage Data

To provide our AI-powered services, we process:

• Uploaded Documents: PDFs, Word documents, text files, and images you upload for analysis
• Questions and Interactions: Questions you ask our AI system about your documents
• AI Responses: The answers, quizzes, and summaries generated for your content
• Usage Analytics: How you interact with our platform (pages visited, features used, time spent)
• Performance Data: Quiz scores, study progress, and learning analytics

Technical Information

We automatically collect certain technical data:

• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, device model
• Connection Data: IP address, internet service provider, geographic location (country/state level)
• Platform Analytics: Error logs, performance metrics, crash reports

Payment Information

For coin purchases and subscriptions:

• Billing Data: Payment method, billing address, transaction history
• Payment Processing: We use Paystack for secure payment processing and don't store full credit card information

3. How We Use Your Information

Core Educational Services

• AI Analysis: Process your documents to provide intelligent answers, generate quizzes, and create summaries
• Personalization: Customize your learning experience based on your usage patterns and preferences
• Progress Tracking: Help you monitor your learning progress and study effectiveness
• Content Optimization: Improve AI responses based on your feedback and interactions

Platform Operations

• Account Management: Create and maintain your user account and preferences
• Customer Support: Respond to your questions, troubleshoot issues, and provide assistance
• Security: Detect and prevent fraudulent activity, abuse, and security threats
• Legal Compliance: Meet our legal obligations and enforce our terms of service

Service Improvement

• Analytics: Understand how our platform is used to improve features and user experience
• Research: Conduct educational research (anonymized data only) to enhance learning outcomes
• AI Enhancement: Improve our AI models' accuracy and effectiveness (using only non-identifiable data)

4. Educational Data Protections

Student Data Commitment

COPPA Compliance (Under 13 Users)

• We require verifiable parental consent before collecting data from children under 13
• Parents can review, modify, or delete their child's information at any time
• We collect only the minimum information necessary to provide educational services
• We use additional security measures for accounts of users under 13

FERPA Compliance (Educational Records)

• We act as a "school official" with legitimate educational interests when serving educational institutions
• We maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for educational records
• We support schools' obligations to provide parents and eligible students access to educational records
• We delete student data when requested by the educational institution or when the educational purpose is fulfilled

5. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We Do Not Sell Your Data

We never sell, rent, or trade your personal information or educational data to third parties for their commercial gain.

Limited Sharing Scenarios

We may share your information only in these specific circumstances:

Service Providers

• Cloud Infrastructure: Supabase (data storage), Netlify (hosting) - both with strict data processing agreements
• AI Services: Google Gemini API for AI processing (content is not used to train their models)
• Payment Processing: Paystack for secure payment handling
• Analytics: Privacy-focused analytics that don't track individual users

Legal Requirements

We may disclose information when required by law, such as:

• In response to valid legal process (subpoenas, court orders)
• To protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users
• To investigate potential violations of our terms of service
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (with user notification)

Educational Institution Access

If you're using AskMyNote through your school:

• Your school may have access to your educational records as allowed by FERPA
• We provide schools with tools to manage student data and privacy settings
• Schools can request bulk data exports or deletions for their students

6. AI and Data Processing

How Our AI Works

AskMyNote uses Google's Gemini AI to analyze your documents and provide responses. Here's how we protect your data:

• No Training Data: Your documents and questions are not used to train Google's AI models
• Encrypted Transmission: All data sent to AI services is encrypted in transit
• Temporary Processing: AI services process your content temporarily and don't permanently store it
• Content Filtering: We filter out personally identifiable information before AI processing when possible

Document Processing

• We extract text from your uploaded documents for AI analysis
• Original document files are stored securely and separately from AI processing
• You can delete your documents at any time through your account settings
• We automatically delete inactive documents after 2 years (with advance notice)

7. Data Security

Security Measures

We implement comprehensive security measures to protect your data:

Technical Safeguards

• Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256)
• Access Controls: Role-based access with multi-factor authentication for our team
• Regular Audits: Security assessments and penetration testing
• Monitoring: 24/7 monitoring for security threats and unusual activity

Operational Safeguards

• Staff Training: Regular privacy and security training for all team members
• Data Minimization: We collect and retain only the data necessary for our services
• Incident Response: Established procedures for responding to security incidents
• Regular Updates: Timely security patches and system updates

Data Breach Notification

In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will:

• Notify affected users within 72 hours of discovery
• Report to relevant authorities as required by law
• Provide clear information about what data was affected and what we're doing about it
• Offer credit monitoring or other protective services if appropriate

8. Your Rights and Choices

Access and Control

You have the following rights regarding your data:

Account Management

• Access: View all data we have about you through your account dashboard
• Correction: Update or correct your personal information at any time
• Deletion: Delete your account and all associated data
• Export: Download your data in a portable format

Privacy Settings

• Data Sharing: Control how your data is shared (where applicable)
• Communications: Opt out of non-essential emails and notifications
• Analytics: Opt out of usage analytics (may limit some features)
• AI Processing: Choose whether to participate in AI improvement (anonymized only)

Parental Rights (Under 18 Users)

Parents and guardians have additional rights:

• Review their child's personal information and account activity
• Request correction or deletion of their child's data
• Withdraw consent for data collection (may limit service availability)
• Receive notifications about changes to our privacy practices

How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, you can:

• Account Settings: Many controls are available directly in your account
• Email Us: Contact info@askmynote.com with your request
• Support Center: Use our help center for step-by-step guidance

9. Data Retention and Deletion

Retention Periods

• Account Data: Retained while your account is active
• Educational Content: Retained for 2 years after last access (with advance notice before deletion)
• Usage Analytics: Aggregated data retained for 3 years
• Financial Records: Retained for 7 years for tax and legal compliance

Automatic Deletion

• Inactive accounts (no login for 3+ years) are automatically deleted
• Temporary data (error logs, session data) is automatically purged
• AI processing data is deleted immediately after response generation

Deletion Requests

You can request immediate deletion of your data at any time. We will:

• Delete your account and personal information within 30 days
• Remove your data from our active systems within 72 hours
• Securely destroy backup data within 90 days
• Provide confirmation when deletion is complete

10. International Users and Data Transfers

Global Service

AskMyNote is available worldwide, and we may transfer your data internationally to provide our services. We ensure adequate protection through:

• Adequacy Decisions: Transfers to countries with adequate data protection laws
• Standard Contractual Clauses: Legal agreements ensuring data protection
• Data Processing Agreements: Binding contracts with all service providers

Regional Compliance

• GDPR (EU/UK): Full compliance with data subject rights and processing requirements
• CCPA (California): California residents have additional privacy rights
• PIPEDA (Canada): Compliance with Canadian privacy laws
• Other Jurisdictions: We monitor and comply with emerging privacy laws

11. Cookies and Tracking

How We Use Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential Functions: Keeping you logged in and maintaining security
• Performance: Understanding how our platform is used to improve it
• Preferences: Remembering your settings and customizations

Your Cookie Choices

• You can control cookies through your browser settings
• Essential cookies are required for the platform to function
• You can opt out of analytics cookies without affecting core functionality
• We don't use cookies for advertising or tracking across other websites

12. Third-Party Services

Integrated Services

AskMyNote integrates with select third-party services to provide our features:

Google Gemini AI

• Purpose: AI-powered document analysis and question answering
• Data Shared: Document content and questions (temporarily)
• Privacy: Content is not used to train AI models
• Security: All transmissions are encrypted

Supabase

• Purpose: Secure data storage and user authentication
• Data Shared: Account information and educational content
• Security: SOC 2 Type II compliant infrastructure

Paystack

• Purpose: Secure payment processing
• Data Shared: Payment information only
• Security: PCI DSS compliant payment processing

Third-Party Privacy Policies

These services have their own privacy policies that govern their data practices. We recommend reviewing them:

• Google Privacy Policy
• Supabase Privacy Policy
• Paystack Privacy Policy

13. Changes to This Policy

Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we do:

• Notice: We'll notify you at least 30 days before significant changes take effect
• Communication: Notifications will be sent via email and posted on our website
• Choice: If you disagree with changes, you can delete your account before they take effect
• Documentation: We maintain a history of policy changes for transparency

Material Changes

For significant changes that affect how we use your data, we will:

• Obtain fresh consent where required by law
• Provide clear explanations of what's changing and why
• Give you time to review and make decisions about your account
• Honor previous privacy commitments for existing data

14. Contact Information

Privacy Questions

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding privacy, please contact us:

Regulatory Complaints

You have the right to file complaints with data protection authorities:

• EU/UK: Your local Data Protection Authority
• US: FTC Consumer Sentinel at consumer.ftc.gov
• Education-specific: US Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office

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Last Updated: June 17, 2025
Effective Date: June 17, 2025
Version: 2.0